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Saturday, May 5, 2012

Ole!

Happy weekend, friends! I hope everyone had a great Saturday/Derby Day/Cinco de Mayo. By some miracle, I didn't have to write a lab report for my microscopy class this week, and thus, I had a bit more time on my hands this weekend to devote to cooking and baking with pretty yummy results.

Nutella was on sale at Dominick's this past week, so I did what any girl who was in possession of a jar of Nutella would do - I made me some crepes. This was my first crepe making experience, and they are super-easy and super-yummy. I made a basic crepe and added ~1/4 tsp of vanilla because I wanted it to be dessert-y but still kind of breakfast-y to complement the sweet filling. Spread the crepe with Nutella, top with some banana slices, and enjoy! The batter keeps well in the fridge, so I'm going to experiment with berry-filled crepes tomorrow morning. Nom!

Eating Nutella directly out of the jar is also an acceptable form of consumption. Source

Starting out the day with a French dish is probably somewhat sacrilegious on Cinco de Mayo, so I felt obligated to make something Mexican-y (I'm really enjoying the -y in this post. My apologies to any English majors reading this). The warmer temperatures of last week had me thinking of warm-weather meals. Warm weather makes me think of California, which made me think of surfing, which made me think of fish, which lead me to troll the interwebs for a good fish taco recipe. Before you ask, no, I don't really have a good explanation for that train of thought. Just go with it.

A lot of recipes either deep fry the heck out of the fish or use TONS of mayo, both of which make my arteries quiver in fear. This one from Alton Brown was simple, moderately healthy, and AWESOME. I didn't bother with the whole making-your-own-tortilla (that's what the grocery store is for) or the crema thing (it takes 24 hours just to sit there? I'm too impatient for that). Also, I substituted lime juice for the liquor. Andy and I paired our tacos with some homemade guacamole and Newman's Own salsa with my current favorite tortilla chips. Excellent.

Fun fact: the internet told me that if you let your fish marinate in an acidic substance (like lime juice) for more than 30 minutes, the proteins in the fish become denatured, and you have a mess of mushy fish instead of flaky filets of fish. So don't do that. A 15-20 minute swim in the marinade should be just enough for your fish. I used tilapia, which is a really good fish for people who normally don't like fish (like me).

Keeping with the Cinco de Mayo theme, I had seen this recipe for pinata cookies(!) earlier in the week. My friend Elizabeth made these cookies without the filling, and they turned out really cute. However, after scouring every aisle of Dominick's and Walgreens, it seems that mini M&Ms have ceased to exist. If anyone can tell me their whereabouts, let me know ASAP! For my pinatas, I'm going to go with a more basic sugar cookie recipe and heart-shaped pinatas because I am not in possession of a burro shaped cookie cutter. I'll report back on my findings! Until then, enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Cupcake sighting: I Dream of Sweets has a sign up for a Dillo Day cupcake consisting of a caramel cake, green raspberry frosting, and a chocolate 'dillo on top. Must. Try. This. Cupcake.